Page 57 - Flathead Beacon // 12.16.15

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
FWP COMMISSION APPROVES HASKILL EASEMENT IN WHITEFISH
The Montana Fish and Wild- lifeCommissiononDec.10unan- imously approved a conservation easement for Haskill Basin that protects 3,020 acres of F.H. Stol- tze Land and Lumber Co. prop- erty north of White sh.
The conservation easement is part of the South White sh Range Conservation Project, which also includes 7,150 acres of land along Trumbull Creek just northwest of Columbia Falls. The commission will consider the Trumbull Creek easement separately.
The State Land Board still must approve both easements, which will allow Stoltze to con- tinue to manage and harvest trees from the forests, while maintain- ing public access and prohibiting residential development. FWP will hold both easements, and the city of White sh will jointly hold the Haskill Basin easement.
Mayor John Muhlfeld told the commission that the easement is critical to protecting the city’s drinking water supply. About 75 percent of the city’s water comes from creeks in Haskill Basin.
The Haskill Basin easement relies on a $7 million grant from the federal Forest Legacy Pro- gram, $2 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habi- tat Conservation Plan land acqui- sition program and $7.7 million from the city of White sh. In addi- tion, Stoltze has agreed to sell the easementat75percentofmarket value, a donation of $3.9 million. The total cost is $16.7 million.
The Trumbull Creek ease- ment is a $9.5 million deal, with $6.5 million from the Forest Leg- acy program, $2 million from the Habitat Conservation Plan pro- gram and $1 million from private donations.
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OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING EYE IN THE SKY
IWAS HUNTING TURKEY ON THE Kaibab National Forest just north of the Grand Canyon years ago. I was there with a couple friends, and as it was a fall permit we ended up hunting the country kind of like we would big game. In Arizona that often means sitting on the nearest water, or going for a walk.
It was unfamiliar country and I didn’t have much time to hunt. I knew my chances of killing a bird were slim, so I opted for the walk as I’d at least get a chance to see the country.
My buddies did the same and after cof- fee we went our separate ways. I never saw a bird, and neither did my buddies, but in the afternoon they did meet up and spotted a couple nice mule deer bucks. As most know, the North Kaibab herd is world renowned for the trophy bucks it produces. The boys weren’t carrying deer tags, but they did have a camera, so they set out for a stalk.
They also had a set of walkie talkies. After a bit of work trying to get close, they realized that they were going to have to move around a small hill to get close enough, and in the process they’d lose sight of the deer and possibly spook them. So instead, one hung back, on another ridge where he could keep the bucks, and the stalker, in sight.
He’d use the electronics to coach his friend into position. They spooked them anyway, and other than a single blue grouse, our party went home without lled turkey permits or even a couple photos of a monster Kaibab mulie.
Later, as we talked around the camp- re, the discussion turned to the failed mule deer stalk. I don’t remember who brought it up, but our chat focused on the ethics of using electronics while hunting. That stalk — if my pal had been hunting with a rearm rather than a cam- era — would have been both illegal, and a
violation of the fair chase codes all ethi- cal hunters follow.
Lately there has been something of a kerfu e about another bit of electronic gear: drones. Outdoor types are begin- ning to play around with these unmanned aerial toys, and some fear drones will be used by hunters to unethically scout and kill wild game. To that I say, “maybe,” but I’m not hitting the panic button just yet.
It’s possible that drones could be used for a type of advanced scouting, but even with a high quality drone I doubt it would be as e cient as more old fashioned techniques, such as nding a good spot and sitting on your butt until an animal makes itself available.
It’s possible, if the technology had existed 15 years ago, that my buddies and I could have sent a drone up out of camp above the North Kaibab timber in search of turkey. I’m just a hobbyist drone pilot, but I know enough to realize the odds would have been on us losing the drone rather than killing a turkey.
I’m against the use of any electronics that violate the basic principles of fair chase hunting, be it walkie talkie, cell phone or drone. But the circumstances in which a hunter might send up a drone in a legal ight spot an animal, then step out and legally kill it are remote.
Should they be banned during hunt- ing season? If that’s your plan, I suggest you do the same with cell phones. If there was cell service on the North Kaibab my friends would have been better served by a couple of iPhones.
Drones are great fun and units that produce high quality images are increas- ingly a ordable. Just don’t use them to harass wildlife or hunt unethically. But then, if you need to be told that, you’re probably too busy spotlighting deer to read this anyway.
Rob Breeding writes and teaches when he’s not shing or hunting.
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DECEMBER 16, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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